Name, first nameDavid MolnarYear of birth1989eMaildavid.molnar@ecal.chUniversityECALField of Interest / research fieldArt Direction in Typography / in Photography Title of projectScreen as a contemporary mediumAbstractLetters are inseparable from matter as their medium. Shapes, letters, words and sentences are only interpretable and understandable as logically defined and universally pre-agreed visual systems of symbols on a visible surface. It can be paper, wood, brick, plastic, LCD screen or simply anything visible; we can say that type is the carrier of spoken language through visible media, and as such, it has various qualities to its existence.

During the long history of Western typography, different surfaces were used as carriers of written communication. To keep valuable ideas for eternity, to persuade others, to exchange knowledge and thoughts, to collect data, to advertise products and services, and so on.

They were defined by time (how long the information should be kept – for eternity? just for a second? – and how fast they wrote them – were they carved during a week? written in an instant with a pen?), space (how much space do they have or want to fit the text in, will it be read from a far or from close ?), matter (will it be carved on stone? will it be printed on paper? maybe written on an LCD screen?) and the intention: what type will be used for, does it has to be beautiful, or just functional? and so on. These qualities affected nor just the tools used, but the very phenomena of the results of complete typographic systems.

I am interested in the method how different surfaces affect type, especially digital screen as it is one of the most used medium today where we see written communication on. How typographers altered letters in the 20th century – during the dawn of screens and digitalisation – to achieve the best qualities, and legibility on rudimentary screens? Does the technique formed letters, or the letters the technique? What are the qualities of screens? How screen as medium affects letterforms? How can we utilise them in typography? What about the relation between books and screen? What are the negative aspects of screen typography? What about the most recent state of virtual and augmented reality, and how can we use them in typography? What about the possible future of type on screen?

I would like to study these effects of time, space, matter, and intention, and its affect on screen typography back then and today. What can we postulate of these different examples we can find in western typographic tradition and in contemporary usage?TutorsRoland Früh, Wayne Daly